


Until the Morning Brightens

by flightlesswish



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 20:53:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3223091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightlesswish/pseuds/flightlesswish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun wakes up to the sound of someone saying something foreign and all he can make out in his barely conscious state is the word signore</p>
            </blockquote>





	Until the Morning Brightens

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a repost from my LJ account.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story. I write fiction not reality.

  
   

i. 

baekhyun wakes up to the sound of someone saying something foreign and all he can make out in his barely conscious state is the word  _signore_. he rubs his bleary eyes lazily, a yawn threatening to escape his lips. it’s rather quiet and he feels cold in his two layers of clothings. he looks up and finds a girl wearing an apron smiling apologetically at him, once again saying something he can’t comprehend. he blinks and looks at his surrounding. there is another girl sweeping the floor near the entrance door wearing similar attire to the girl in front of him and then he realizes that there are an empty mug and a plate of half-eaten  _lasagna_  sitting still on a small table in front of him. he can hear a faint sound of radio playing an italian song he can’t recognize from the counter, a clock ticking away on the wall telling him that it’s past ten p.m. and only then does it dawn on him that he’s fallen asleep in the middle of his dinner. in front of him, the girl — a waitress, repeats her words patiently.

_non capisco, non parlo italiano,_  baekhyun manages to stutter in his korean-accented italian, but he takes out his wallet anyway and gives her some euros to pay his dinner.  _mi dispiache_ , he apologizes softly as he leaves. the air outside is chilling and turns his breath into white smokes. he slips his freezing hands into his coat’s pockets in attempt to get some warmth but to his dismay it can only give him a little more warmth. the hotel he’s staying at is three blocks away so he rushes, thinking about the warm and comfy bed waiting for him, a smile rises from the corners of his lips.

the bed’s all made up when he arrives seven minutes later. he takes off his shoes, puts his coat on the couch and puts the heater on. he looks around and lets a sigh escapes his lips when only silence greets him back. the sudden feeling of loneliness wraps his body, infiltrates his skin like a lethal venom rushing in his blood, spreading into all over his system. he hugs himself and sits on the bed. after a deep intake of breath he takes out his phone from his pants’ pocket, dials a number he knows by heart with his numbing fingers and waits.

_the number you are calling is not active or out of the service area. please call again later or leave your message after the beep._

the simple beep sounds too harsh in his ear.  _chanyeol_ , he breathes out,  _rome is really beautiful_.

he lays down on the bed and closes his eyes.  _but of course it gets boring without you_ , he chuckles, then he pauses. he can feel something welling up in his eyes, but he quickly shakes the feeling away.  _like i said before i’ll send you postcards to make you jealous_ , he continues,  _have my london and munich postcards reached you safely?_  he stops and waits for a few heartbeats but the only thing that greets him back is silence. sleep approaches him gently and he finally surrenders, hanging up the call and once again solitude hugs him close like an old friend.

he wakes up the next morning and raises from the bed slowly. he parts the curtain slightly and takes a peek outside the window, blinking his bleary eyes. outside, the life has begun in rome but the sky is dim and it’s been like that for awhile; now that he thinks about it, mornings seem to be darker these days.

after breakfast baekhyun buys a postcard with a picture of the  _colosseum_ , writes  _i miss you_  in a neat  _hangeul_  and sends it to seoul. 

 

 

ii.

amsterdam is full of life.

baekhyun buys himself a strand of bright orange tulips from a floral vendor in  _bloemenmarkt_  and takes a leasure walk around the town. he visits  _grachtrngordel,_ the _rijksmuseum_ , and the van gogh museum where he tries to imitate various poses from the paintings and gains several weird looks from the other visitors.

he goes to the  _concertgebouw_  on the third day and imagines himself standing on the stage with all the spotlights shine on him while he soars as he sings his heart out, the royal _concertgebouw_  orchestra accompanying his performance beautifully. he imagines thousands pairs of eyes are all on him, mouths agape in awe of his performance, and he would see chanyeol in the front row smiling that wide stupid smile of his and cheering the loudest as if he’s in an out-door pop star concert and not in one of the best concert halls in the world, and baekhyun knows he would smile back even wider.

he takes tons of pictures of windmills and flower gardens, all colorful and bright. sometimes he asks the the passerby to take his photos. he smiles so bright his eyes turn into a pair of crescent moons, posing in cheesy poses he knows chanyeol would’ve made him do if he were there. 

at night he lays on the bed, dials chanyeol’s number and records his voice mail for the umpteenth time. he curls up to himself and closes his eyes, indulges himself into yet another dreamless sleep as he waits for the first light of the day to come.

on the last day, he goes to the  _westerkerk_  and prays. 

this time he doesn’t send chanyeol a postcard. instead, he sends one of his photos with a huge windmill as the background and simply writes a single syllable of  _hangeul_.

_와_

 

( _come._ )

 

 

iii.

__champs__ - _élysées_ fascinates baekhyun.

he shops at the disney store, visits  _place de la concorde_  and  _arc de triomphe_ and other places with the names he can’t pronounce correnctly while hummimg  _aux _champs__ - _élysées_ cheerfully. he also manages to get to the  _louvre_  and  _montmarte_  despite his non-existent french skill and finally at the evening of his second day he stands in front of the eiffel tower. after taking photos, he buys two mini eiffel tower keychains and a postcard from a souvenir shop nearby and put them safely into his backpack.

on the fourth night, his phone rings. he stares at the caller id. 

_xiao lu_. 

the name instantly makes his stomach churns and he feels as if his heart’s dropped, his mind screaming to just ignore the call although deep down inside he knows he has to answer it. he bites his lower lip and takes a lungful of air.  _lu han hyung?_ he answers after the fifth ring. 

_baekhyun,_  lu han says in a mix of relief and worry and anger and everything else,  _we’re worried sick you fool, where the hell are you?_

baekhyun sits on the rough carpeted floor against the side of his bed, running his hand on his dishevelled hair.  _i’m in paris now_ , is all he can say and he can hear lu han sighs on the other line.  _what are you doing there, come back._

he doesn’t answer. 

_baekhyun._

he buries his face on his knees as a flood of broken memories invade his mind and he wants it to fucking stop  _now_  because he’s sick of all of this and he’s been hurt and he can’t take it anymore —

_baekhyun. is it about chanyeol?_

he hangs up.

 

baekhyun sends another postcard with a keychain and another piece of his heart the next day. on the postcard, a shaky and blurred  _je t’aime_  is written.

 

 

iv.

he finally meets chanyeol in barcelona. 

he gets lost on his way back from  _nou camp_  to his hotel after he watched  _el classico_  match between barcelona fc and real madrid and before he knows it the street becomes too foreign and he has no idea where the way back is. his throat is sore from screaming and parts of his body ache from exhaustion. people seamlessly walk past by him and he can only stand still, the feeling of helplessness and fear are starting to sink in until suddenly he feels himself being dragged away from the crowd by a tall man wearing dark-colored jeans and a matching jacket, his face shadowed by the hood over his head.

_how many times do i have to tell you to be careful in crowded streets_ , the man tsks as he turns around to face baekhyun when they’re already in a less crowded part of the street,  _why are you so careless?_

the man pulls the hood off his head and when he smiles, the world stops spinning and the rest of the world is blurring away around him.  _chanyeol._

in front of him park chanyeol is grinning all teeth, eyes full of life with the left side twitching up forming an odd yet unmistakably chanyeolish expression on his handsome face.

_i’ve been looking for you_ , baekhyun says shakily after he can find his voice back,  _i’ve been looking for_ you _._

chanyeol’s eyes soften and he gently pulls baekhyun into his arms, placing a soft kiss on the smaller’s forehead.  _i know,_ he mumbles, _i’m really sorry._  and baekhyun wants to hit him so hard for making him waiting and for making him sad and angry and happy but all he can do is to pull the taller man closer to his heart and cries against the soft fabric of his jacket, repeating  _stupid stupid stupid_  and a lot more of  _i love you_ s in between.

 

they go around the city and visit several tourist attractions ( _antoni gaudí_ _is a genius_ , baekhyun comments in awe at  _sagrada f_ _amília_ ) and stroll along  _la rambla_. one evening after they watch an amazing opera at  _gran teatre del liceu_ , chanyeol takes his hand and dance with him in a crowded street on their way back and baekhyun thinks he’s crazy and he can’t understand why he’s laughing anyway and lets chanyeol lead him dancing boisterously under the sparkling stars and pairs of gazes given by the passerby, but he doesn’t care and starts singing the beautiful  _aria_  they’ve just watched in the opera sloppily. 

the time comes to a halt as they kiss; the world stands still in front of a reunion between two parts of a broken soul. 

 

on the sixth day they go back to  _la rambla_. chanyeol insists on drinking from  _font de canaletes_  and whines for double chocolate strawberry ice cream when they pass an ice cream parlour. baekhyun sighs but agrees anyway and walks toward the parlor to buy a cone and struggles to find the right words in broken english and even more broken spanish. he’s finally finished paying and is taking the ice cream from the kind woman when he hears a voice behind him.

_baekhyun oppa?_

he turns around and finds a girl with a long auburn hair wearing a black hoodie with the word  _exo_  imprinted on it standing in front of him, her wide eyes staring straight at him. 

_oh my god it’s really you,_ she gasps in her accented and broken korean,  _what are you doing here, oppa? are you alone?_

his eyes sweeps the street but chanyeol is nowhere to be seen. he averts his gaze back to the girl and shakes his head hesitantly.  _do i know you?_

she offers him a shy smile as her cheeks turn a shade redder.  _i’m exo’s fan._

_oh_ , he replies dumbly,  _thanks_.

_where are the others, oppa? who did you come with?_  she asks curiously as she peers over his shoulder, both eyebrows raised. 

_i came with chanyeol, but looks like he’s off somewhere,_ he looks around then offers her a smile _, probably to the bathroom. he should be back soon._

his answer seems to surprise her.  _chanyeol oppa?_  she echoes.

baekhyun nods.  _yes, i’m with chanyeol. estoy con chanyeol,_ he adds in broken spanish with a sheepish smile. the girl falls silent at his answer, her gaze drops to the ground and something inside him tells him to leave  _now_ and it’s weird, because this girl looks harmless enough and where is chanyeol anyway? 

_i’m so sorry, baekhyun oppa,_ the girl says finally with a trembling voice as tears stream down her cheeks,  _i’m so sorry._

in his hand,the ice cream melts away and travels along his exposed skin until the gravity pulls it to the ground. _why are you sorry,_ baekhyun hears himself asking, feeling lost.  _why are you crying?_

 

he finds chanyeol back in the hotel room, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring into space. when he notices his arrival, the taller man silently approaches him and pulls him into his arms.

chanyeol sings him spanish lullabies that night and baekhyun holds onto him tightly under the sheets, refusing to let go.

_sleep, baekhyun,_  chanyeol murmurs. baekhyun shakes his head in response, burying his face deeper into the crook of chanyeol’s neck.  _no._

chanyeol sighs.  _it’s midnight soon_. 

_what’s wrong with midnight_ , baekhyun replies nonchalantly,  _we used to stay up all night to practice_. he pauses and thinks of sleepless nights of seemingly endless dancing and singing about platonic love and broken hearts. 

_it’s midnight soon,_ chanyeol simply repeats in a whisper, brushing his lips against baekhyun’s forehead.  _close your eyes, baekhyun._

_why should i,_ baekhyun chokes out. something tugs at his heart and there are too many unspoken words die on the tip of his tongue.  _stay_ , he whispers — pleas, fingers tugging onto the hem of chanyeol’s off-white  _iron man_  t-shirt, nails digging deeper because he’s scared, because he’s hurt and he’s broken and chanyeol is responsible for all of this and he’s not letting him go ever again. 

because he’s selfish and he loves chanyeol too much.

_tomorrow you’ll leave,_ chanyeol says softly,  _tomorrow you’ll go back to seoul._

baekhyun looks up at him questioningly.  _we’re going back tomorrow?_

a smile plays on chanyeol’s lips. there’s something in his eyes that makes baekhyun’s heart clench.  _close your eyes, baek._

baekhyun shakes his head and tries to say something,  _anything_ , but he’s all choked up and his eyes are brimming with tears.  _shh, don’t cry,_  chanyeol whispers and leans in to kiss baekhyun’s eyelids gently.  _i love you. you know that, right?_

baekhyun flutters his eyes shut and they’re at the sm bulding rooftop, hands resting on the cold metal railing while gazing at the sea of stars above. chanyeol has his arm around his shoulders and from the darkeness he sees himself smiling.  _tell me_ , he says as he tears his gaze away from the stars and averts it to the taller man,  _what is so important that you have to drag me all the way up here?_

chanyeol looks at him and smiles bashfully.  _i’ve been thinking how to do this and you know our schedule is tighter than jongin’s pants and i think you’ve already known what i’m going to say anyway so what i’m saying is_  — 

_stop babbling, stupid,_  baekhyun cuts him off wryly,  _i’ve already got terrible headache from memorizing the chinese lyrics of wolf._

_i love you_ , chanyeol blurts out, hands covering his eyes in embarrassment. at that moment baekhyun is stunned, eyes widen yet his lips are pressed shut, and he remembers the strange sensation of butterflies merrily flapping their wings in his stomach and then as if on cue, he can hear a sound of explosion from afar and as he gazes into the distance, colorful fireworks are all over the starry sky. he averts his gaze back to chanyeol who’s staring wide-eyed at the sight with mouth slightly ajar. still stunned, he punches the taller’s arm playfully.  _did you plan this?_

chanyeol shakes his head slowly as he stares back at him,  _no. as much as i want to say i did,_ he pauses and baekhyun can see his cheeks turn a few shades redder.  _i guess god planned this_ , chanyeol adds shyly. baekhyun looks away as heat crawls under his skin to his cheeks.  _you’re so cheesy, park chanyeol._

a comfortable silence falls as they watch the stunning sight until chanyeol finally regains his courage and asks,  _so what do you say_?

baekhyun stares at him.  _what do i say to what?_

_stupid_ , chanyeol mutters under his breath and leans in to press his lips against baekhyun’s. the kiss is chaste and brief, but it’s enough to put baekhyun’s heart on a whirl. when chanyeol pulls away, there’s a smile playing on his lips.  _i love you. you know that, right?_

baekhyun shudders as a strong wind blows past him and the rooftop turns into a dark alley with only stars and a full moon illuminating the narrow path. the alley feels terribly familiar and he suddenly feels a feeling similar to asphyxiate. he stumbles forward and sees two figures at the end of the alley, one of them is crying while the other lays helpless on the cold ground, his head rested on the man’s lap. the man laying on the ground covered in so much red baekhyun feels sick.

_please, they’ll be here soon, please stay with me please please please_ , he can hear the crying man chokes out, holding the other’s hand close to his heart.  _you’re not going to leave me, are you?_

in the distance he can hear the sound of sirens roaring in the silence of the night. the dying man chokes blood as he smiles to the crying man and says something baekhyun can’t hear. eventually the man takes his last breath and suddenly everything is blurring away until all that’s left is darkness. 

_chanyeol?_  he tries. the stillness scares him.

_don’t open your eyes_ , he faintly hears chanyeol whisper,  _it’s going to be okay_.

baekhyun looses his fingers on his grip as he quivers. the air suddenly feels too cold and foreign and the tears spilling from the corners of his eyes has never tasted so bitter.  _you’ll be here when i wake up, won’t you?_

an utter silence answers him and soon consciousness eventually leaves him. in a matter of seconds, he’s fallen yet again into a deep, dreamless slumber.

 

( _you won’t leave me again, will you?_ )

 

 

v.

_the number you are calling is not active or out of the service area, please call again or leave your message after —_

 

vi.

in bali baekhyun goes to  _garuda vishnu kencana_ , watches the  _kecak_  dance live, learns how to surf at the  _kuta_  beach, and gets addicted to coconut water when he dines at the  _jimbaran_. he spends his third day visiting  _pura_ s and learns local culture from the locals he meets on the way.

on the fifth day baekhyun lets the wave washes his feet as he waits for the sunset at the  _dream land_  beach. he hugs his knees closer to his chest, feeling the soft grains of sand against the palms of his feet. in front of him the sky is burning into a few shades of red and he thinks it’s beautiful. as the sun kisses the sea, baekhyun takes out his phone and calls the same number he’s been calling for the past four months. when the usual beep ends, he begins.  _chanyeol_ , he says, _i’m in bali now._

_you know what they call bali? they call it pulau dewata... don’t laugh at my horrible pronunciation, okay, i bet my life you can’t say it right either,_  he sticks out his tongue to the sinking sun for a good measure then smiles softly to himself.  _it means the island of gods_.

he reaches out his hand towards the sun and lets the light passes through the gaps of his fingers.  _i’ve chased you all the way to the island of gods and you’re still not here._

a pause.  _are you mad at me, chanyeol?_

not far from him, the waves crash loudly against the rocks and he feels his heart sinks along the retreating waves; hurt and broken but still looks mighty and whole.

_i’m so sorry,_ he whispers, burying his face on his bare knees and let himself breaks down yet again,  _i’m so sorry, i’ve done wrong, it’s all my fault —_

 

at sunrise he buys another postcard and sends it to the sea.

( _please come back, i love you, i love you i love you i love you —_ )

 

 

vii.

_i love you. you know that, right?_

 

 

viii.

the next morning baekhyun pushes the bell to exo dorm. after the sixth ring, lu han’s voice can be heard through the intercom.  _nuguseyo?_

baekhyun opens his mouth but nothing comes out.  _nuguseyo?_  lu han repeats. he imagines lu han in his pink deer pajamas, leaning against the wall behind the door, rubbing the sleepiness off of his doe eyes and is too sleepy to take a glance at the camera to see who his early visitor is. the lump in his throat is refusing to go away so baekhyun opts to knock softly on the door.  _knock knock knock._

_nuguse —_ oh

baekhyun offers a small smile to the camera and steps back as lu han opens the door and immediately pulls him into his arms roughly, tightly holding onto him as if he could fly away at any moment.  _baekhyun_ , lu han breathes out, his voice trembles as his body does, his face buried in the crook of baekhyun’s exposed neck.  _you’re back._

he puts his arms around the older man and hugs him closer. he tries not to think of how skinny lu han has become, how fragile he’s felt in his arms, and loses himself in the familiar strawberry scent of lu han’s cream-colored hair. 

_yes, hyung_ , he says quietly.  _i’m back._

 

yifan accompanies him for the night.

( _but chanyeol will come_ , he protests,  _where will he sleep when he does?_

everybody falls silent until sehun finally sighs and says,  _he’ll sleep on the floor_  and takes lu han away with him to their shared-bedroom. kyungsoo gives him an apologetic smile and hugs him and everyone else except yifan follows suit before they, too, leave until it’s only him alone with yifan in the quiet living room.)

_tell me about your journey,_  yifan says when they’re already in the bedroom as he tucks himself under the blanket, _it seems interesting._

a small smile grows on baekhyun’s lips as he nods, sleepy eyes gazing at the plain white ceiling.  _i went to find chanyeol._

yifan hums.  _did you find him?_

_i did, in barcelona_ , baekhyun frowns,  _but he’s gone after telling me to go back to seoul._

yifan says nothing so he continues,  _then i went to bali because i suddenly remembered he said he wanted to go there but he’s not there. i figured he’s back in seoul but he’s not here either._  he averts his gaze to yifan,  _do you happen to know where he is, hyung?_

yifan gazes back at him and pulls him closer, placing a gentle kiss on top of his head.  _yeah, i actually do_ , he answers,  _and i’m taking you to him tomorrow._

baekhyun yawns as sleep approaches him, snuggling closer to the taller man for more warmth.  _promise?_

it may be only his imagination, but he thinks he hears yifan’s voice breaks when he says  _promise._

 

_he’s here,_ yifan says softly, voice not louder than a whisper. yifan has taken him to a beautiful cemetery up in a small hill where the beauty of seoul from height can be seen, the gentle wind trembles the fallen leaves around them as if greeting them welcome. baekhyun approaches a headstone yifan has pointed and kneels, the bouquet of flowers that he brings falls helplessly on the ground along with his heart. he reach out his hand and traces the syllables he knows by heart carved beautifully on the stone with the tip of his trembling fingers.

_he’s gone, baekhyun._

baekhyun closes his eyes and flashes of broken scenes bleed into his mind like a broken record; repeating broken pieces of his worst nightmare and unfinished sentences whirling around in his brain to revive fragments of memories which have been haunting him like a ghost.  _stop,_  he begs, covering his ears with the palm of his hands and compels his eyes to shut,  _stop it —_

when he opens his eyes, chanyeol is in his arms; his handsome face dimly illuminated by the full moon hanging in the starry sky. 

_please, they’ll be here soon, please stay with me please please please_ , he can hear himself chokes out, his hand holding chanyeol’s which is covered in crimson close to his heart.  _you’re not going to leave me, are you?_

chanyeol chokes blood as he smiles, his hand reaching out to touch baekhyun’s tears and blood stained cheek.he pulls the shorter’s forehead against his shakily but still gently, his breaths are short and shaky and baekhyun can feel something breaks inside him.  _shh, don’t cry_ , chanyeol whispers, brushing his cold lips against baekhyun’s forehead. baekhyun shakes his head but he can’t stop the tears; he can’t stop the truth from falling out and he feels imminent anger rising inside him because stopping any of this is far beyond his power.

_looks like i can’t go to travel around the world with you_ , chanyeol chuckles,  _i’m sorry._

_don’t_ , baekhyun trembles,  _don’t. you will._ we _will._

chanyeol tilts his head slightly so he can see the full moon clearly.  _that yellow moon teases me, telling me that i can’t have you_ , he sings softly and grins.  _looks like my time’s up._

baekhyun shakes his head vehemently and holds chanyeol’s hand tighter because the light in chanyeol’s eyes is  _fading_  and he doesn’t know what to do. the sound of sirens roaring across the night ignites his hope back to life and he smiles shakily,  _do you hear that? they’re coming. hold on._

chanyeol averts his gaze back to him and smiles.  _i love you. you know that, right?_

baekhyun nods, lips pressed tight, unable to say anything.  _good_ , chanyeol says, taking a shaky breath and flutters his eyes shut.  _it’s going to be okay._

then everything goes still. the feeling is suffocating and baekhyun feels like his soul has been crushed to pieces.  _but it’s going to be okay_ , he wipes his tears, pushes the feelings away and shakily presses his lips against chanyeol’s pale forehead.  _it’s going to be okay._

the ambulance and the police arrive three minutes later and take away chanyeol from him, saying things he can’t comprehend like death and murder and robbery. soon he finds himself in lu han’s arms, already broken to pieces.  _this isn’t happening_ , he tells himself,  _this isn’t it._

_this can’t be it_.

baekhyun closes his eyes shut and chooses a happier ending.

 

(  _on midnight of july fifth park chanyeol, twenty-three, a member of the popular boyband exo was found dead in an armed street robbery at an alley near a 24/7 mini-market within the apgujeong region. it is said that park chanyeol in order to save fellow bandmate byun baekhyun, twenty-four, acted as a human shield when the robber fired his revolver towards byun baekhyun before running away with the —_ )

 

 

ix.

_now i get it why mornings seem so gloomy and dark since you’re gone._

 

 

x.

exo makes its come back after a year and a half hiatus in an out-door stage, bathing in the blinding spotlights and sparkling stars. the fans scream their names loudly like the world is ending and they sing even louder to make up for one missing voice. 

in the end they shout  _we are one, we are exo!_  and baekhyun gazes up to the sky and raises his thumb up for someone who’s been watching them from among the stars.

 

 

xi.

_it’s because they have taken you away from me._

 

  
  


  
xii. 

 

baekhyun slips out from the dorm at dawn and bikes to the han river. there’s no one there and he isn’t surprised because it’s too early in the end of a november and he’s not supposed to be there either anyway. he takes a seat on the cold ground and gulps down warm milk tea from the bottle he’s brought with him. 

_hey._

he looks up to find a man in a dark green hoodie and denim jeans smiling at him. the man occupies the space beside him and slings his arm around baekhyun’s shoulders casually. baekhyun leans in closer to him for more warmth as a smile grows on his lips.  _happy birthday_ , he says to the man.

the man laughs and ruffles baekhyun’s messy hair affectionately,  _thanks._

baekhyun simply hums and lets a comfortable silence falls in the air.  _yifan hyung is getting married in january_ , he says after some thoughts and the man immediately turns his gaze to him in response, wide-eyed.  _no way._

baaekhyun laughs,  _yes way._

the man hits baekhyun’s arm playfully and pouts.  _what’s she like?_

_not she._ he _. he’s getting married to our precious ab style kungfu panda tao_ , baekhyun grins.

_no way!_

baekhyun sighs and moves to pull the hood off the man’s head to reveal his black hair.  _yes, park chanyeol,_ he says wryly,  _yifan hyung and tao are getting married to each other and if you say_ no way _again i swear i will push you into the river. why are you so surprised, anyway?_

park chanyeol puffs his cheeks, a frown formed on his face.  _it’s not that i’m against their marriage or anything_ , he says sullenly,  _but will they be alright?_

baekhyun nods.  _of course they will. we want the best for them, you know. besides, yifan hyung is thirty now and people don’t care as much as they used to be about this kind of thing anymore_ , he says and reaches out to cup chanyeol’s face in his hands, a sad smile on his lips.  _you’re just... gone too fast, yeol._

_but i’m here_ , chanyeol insists,  _i’m here, aren’t i?_

_you are_ , baekhyun agrees, then he pauses.  _but sometimes i wish people can see it too._

chanyeol says nothing in response and simply pulls baekhyun closer. baekhyun lets a yawn escape his lips as sleepiness is sinking in.  _you know what,_ he mumbles,  _i feel the mornings have been darker since you’re gone._

chanyeol chuckles.  _really?_

_yeah. but it’s kinda funny because now that you’re here, even when i close my eyes it’s really bright. as if you’re the sun itself._

_you just love me too much_ , chanyeol teases smugly and baekhyun nudges his ribs hard but _yeah, just a little too much, perhaps,_  he finally admits with a giggle. he feels incredibly light and relaxed with chanyeol here beside him; feeling his own heartbeats more alive with each beat and the underappreciated joy of breathing in the tranquility of early morning life.  _will you stay this time?_

chanyeol hums.  _if you want me to._

_until the morning brightens?_  baekhyun asks as he flutters his eyes shut. chanyeol smiles as he leans in and presses his lips against baekhyun’s, whispering promises and flightless wishes into the core of his soul. in front of them, the dawn is slowly breaking to make a way for the first light of the day. when chanyeol pulls away and tightens his arms around him, the ghost of his smile on baekhyun’s lips still lingers like a sweet and fresh morning dew.

_until the morning brightens._  
  
---  
  
**Author's Note:**

> Personally, I always get emotional when it comes to this story. I remember having to stop a few times when I was writing this because I was too choked up to continue. I'm still not sure why, because I've never really had to stop for a few times just because I'm too choked up to continue before and even after this, despite all of those sad stories I have written. I am also very grateful that this story has been receiving so many love. It really means a lot to me. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, I hope you all liked it!


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